Criminal Psychology

Min River No. 1 Prison, Prison cell.

In the less than ten square meter dark room, there was a deathly silence. Outside was a doctor carrying the lethal injections.

The tray was clean, and the prison door was already open.

The police outside the door were still waiting for the result, but the prisoner inside no longer had any hope. Qian Bao was sneering, Zhao Yi was very calm, Yan Guiqiu kept headbutting the ground, and Sun Zhen was still glaring at them with defiant eyes. When Huang Ze stepped into the room, this was the scene he saw.

The surroundings were too quiet, without a sound.

But Shen Lian felt a rumble in her ears, as if the blood in her body was about to explode.

She finally felt a sense of anger at being played by Lin Chen. Those four convicts were the strangers next to the railway worker. Lin Chen simulated the second question situation in a more subtle and less noticeable way—a situation that almost certainly had a predetermined outcome.

If she had a knife in her hand right now, she would definitely stab Lin Chen’s heart repeatedly. The female anchor on the TV seemed to not have spoken enough as she continued, “We originally thought there would be a one-sided result, but unexpectedly, after some of the votes at the scene were counted, there was a surprising change. It’s really incredible.”

Like Lin Chen, her nonchalant tone angered Shen Lian, but she still took a deep breath and forced herself to think. “What about those who chose ‘Yes’. Do they also have this so-called moral brake in their heads?”

Lin Chen looked at her with a look of pity. “I’m sorry to tell you, yes.”

“But these people are dead set on exchanging the lives of criminals for medicine!”

“That doesn’t mean they didn’t hesitate when they first saw this question.” Lin Chen looked at the night sky and continued calmly, “Innate morality comes first, so it takes more effort to overcome it. And more importantly, we must explore behavior based on intention. People who made the ‘Yes’ choice—did they make this choice based on personal gain or based on the value of more people’s lives? Did they bow their heads out of fear, or were they willing to carry the moral burden of being indirect killers to fight for the right for more people to live? The same ‘Yes’ represents different value judgments due to different intentions. Do you understand the meaning behind each ‘Yes’?”

Shen Lian scoffed, but Lin Chen seemed to see through her thoughts and continued.

“You don’t have to look down on those who choose ‘No’. These people will inevitably be more numerous because the effect of moral brake cannot be offset by careful thinking. However, they are not cowards who obey the human natural moral mechanism. Behind every ‘No’ choice is kindness, respect for life, maintenance of the social legal system of equality for all, and also the determination to fight against you.”

“All you do is dig out the chicken soup of human kindness. It’s disgusting!” Shen Lian pretended to vomit.

“This is a fact, but it’s also interesting that the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ options often represent different personalities. The former can make decisions quickly and have a hard stance, and the internet is often filled with their comments because they are very eye-catching. The latter need more time to make decisions, often waiting until the last moment to respect their inner choices. This sometimes also reflects that people don’t like to brag about being a good person. People tend to act quietly, and the silent are always the majority.”

Lin Chen said, “And even behind each abstention, there is a struggle of self-morality that cannot be resolved, so whether it’s yes or no, they are all commendable choices. Although this respectability seems ordinary due to its large numbers, it’s really beautiful. You should take a look.”

…..

The Commander Center of Hongjing Municipal Bureau.

This was where all the polling data would be dispatched at the first moment.

Due to a shortage of manpower, most police officers had been working nonstop for over two days and nights. The hall was filled with the smell of instant coffee and strong tea, reminiscent of a heavily loaded truck marching on.

Minister Shen was waiting in the hall for the final result.

Xing Conglian was smoking on the rooftop, not joining the senior officials.

Next to him was the strategist, who had previously criticized Lin Chen. The young man, who always seemed gloomy and cold, was very serious at the moment. “Consultant Lin has a confirmed result in his mind.”

Xing Conglian ignored him.

“I am a staunch ‘Yes’ proponent,” he added. “If more people choose ‘Yes’, we can permanently solve the problems we face.”

Xing Conglian still ignored him.

“But just now, I was suddenly grateful. I found that, although it’s ideal, a society unified with iron-willed determination is terrifying.” He said frankly, “So, I came to apologize.”

The wind on the rooftop abruptly ceased, and the city’s night view seemed especially heavy.

“But this sacrifice is too great,” he finally said.

Xing Conglian, however, had been overlooking the night view all along, without uttering a word.

Under the tall buildings, there were ordinary lights of thousands of households.

At the entrance of the new village, the gatekeeper turned up the volume of the radio so that the residents waiting for the result could hear clearly.

The usually chatty aunties were all silent. Everyone was waiting for the final judgment; therefore, no one noticed the white-collar bank worker standing at the edge of the crowd.

The young man looked up at the floor that he was once very familiar with—the figure of his beloved seemed hazy in the dim light.

He held his phone, wanting to dial that string of numbers.

In the hospital, the emergency building was still operating all night, but most of the wards were quiet.

In the ICU, a frail old lady was still sitting by the bed. Her hair was still neatly combed. She was wearing reading glasses and holding a book in her hand as she flipped through it slowly.

“Hey, this sentence is interesting, and quite sarcastic.” The old lady would read out some paragraphs to her husband.

She said, “It’s absurd to divide people into good and bad…”

For some reason, the person on the bed couldn’t respond.

The TV was on, and so was the lamp beside the bed.

“People are either charming or boring.”

The female anchor began to announce the result.

The old lady looked up at the TV calmly, showing no surprise, but when she turned back to look at her husband on the bed, her eyes were still red.

……

Huang Ze hung up the phone, also holding the final answer.

All the police officers looked at him in unison, and he walked forward along the corridor. The four people in the cell maintained their previous posture.

Huang Ze entered the cell, looked at them, and calmly said, “If it were up to my personal wishes, I hope you guys would die, in exchange for the chance for more innocent sufferers to survive.”

Yan Guiqiu paused his head-banging motion. He slowly raised his head. While his dark eyes still looked desperate, a trace of shock gradually emerged in them.

Huang Ze calmly read the result in his hand. “Out of a total of 49,582,412 valid votes, 65.33% of people believe we should not execute you in exchange for the treatment drugs.” He paused and said, “Congratulations, you can continue to go back to prison.”

This was a normal announcement, but it was like a thunderbolt in Yan Guiqiu’s mind. He was utterly bewildered, wanting to bite his tongue or punch himself to ensure he was still sober, and this wasn’t a hallucination before death.

He turned his head numbly, only to see the faces of his “cellmates” all showed great shock. They looked at each other as if they were morons, startled by a sudden shock.

At this moment, a gray-blue figure suddenly sprang up. Sun Zhen rushed to Huang Ze, grabbed his collar, lowered his voice, and confirmed word by word, “What did you say? Say it again?”

“The result is, more people think you have a right and should live.” Huang Ze responded indifferently. “Why?” Sun Zhen whispered incredulously and then asked again, “Why?”

“Probably because the world is full of unreasonable fools.”

As Huang Ze responded casually, the officers outside the cell left with the execution tools like flowing water, leaving behind the entrance to the cell empty.

The road ahead was completely dark, but Yan Guiqiu felt that he had never seen a clearer path in his life.

In the square, public officials began to pack up the polling points. Inside the police station, the officers, who had been working continuously, were still pressing on.

In the snack bar, people who were shocked by the result clinked their glasses heavily for the first time.

The young man under the tree turned and left, the family members of the victims began to cry out loud, and the family members of patients remained helplessly desperate.

For Yan Guiqiu, the road ahead of him was long, so he walked very slowly. When he was about to reach the gate, he felt Huang Ze pat his shoulder and say to them, “He asked me to apologize on his behalf, but I think he has nothing to apologize for.”

Yan Guiqiu looked at Huang Ze in confusion but seemed to know who ‘he’ referred to.

His eyes were a bit wet, but he didn’t want to cry; he raised his head and bathed in the moonlight. The summer wind was as soft as a woman’s chest, intoxicating.

Tonight, the stars were brilliant.

The author has something to say:

“It’s absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or boring.” — Oscar Wilde